


Cold Case

by inheritanceofgeek



Series: Reconciliation [1]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: (But with Post- New 52 elements because there's still some good stuff there), F/M, Forgiveness, Huddling For Warmth, Pre-New 52, Reconciliation, Sharing a Bed, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 06:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17462291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inheritanceofgeek/pseuds/inheritanceofgeek
Summary: Red Robin and Batgirl have finished their latest mission in the alps, and now it's time to hunker down and wait to be picked up. But with the temperature dropping, will they find a way to re-kindle what once was lost?OrThe one in which Stephanie and Tim forgive one another.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Last year I did a massive Batman Binge, and met Stephanie Brown and promptly fell in love. I've recently spent my time considering the Tim/Steph relationship, and how that might have played out had New 52 not happened. (Rebirth!Step just isn't the same...) 
> 
> I'm new to writing for Batman, so ConCrit is appreciated. Un-beated I'm afraid, so please forgive my spelling.

In the films, secret spy missions in the Alps where you had to flee on snowboards from avalanches set off my evil supervillains, always looked cool and exciting. In reality, they were fucking terrifying. Surviving them was exhilarating to say the least, and Steph would definitely be asking O for the footage so she could relive it in High Definition back at Firewall, but right now she was still trying to get her heart rate back to something normal. 

Meanwhile, Red Robin was acting like this was all as easy as breathing. Damn Waynes, they probably did this for fun. But two weeks ago, Steph had never even set foot inside a ski lodge, let alone go on the slopes, so she thought she did pretty damn well, all considered!

“You know it would have been easier if you'd gone for skis.” he said, not even looking up from his weird hologram computer.

“Snowboarding is way cooler though, and closest to skateboarding. If Chalet Girl taught me anything.” she said, pulling her goggles up off her face and squinting down at the screen too. 

“Is that all you did to prepare for this? Skateboard and watch Rom-coms?” 

“ _ And _ James Bond films.” She grinned, ignoring his sigh with practiced ease. “You still got the MacGuffin?” 

“If you mean the USB Stick with the plans for Howard Williams’ designs for satellite weapon he has trained on Gotham, then yes. I'm uploading the data to the batcave now.”

“Sweet.” She watched him tapping away and then swooshing the holoscreen away again. As much as she loved O, and knew her to be the most accomplished of the Bats, Red Robin always ended up with the coolest toys. She took out one of her energy bars and began to chew on it, “So where we going next? I don't think we're going to be able to use the Bat-copter as planned.”

“It's not the ‘Bat-copter’, it's just a normal helicopter. And since you blew it up, probably not.” He chastised “Are you really eating right now?” 

“Escaping certain death makes me hungry, and I'll have you know that letting the Bat-copter get blown up allowed us to  _ not _ be! They needed to think we'd died. I saved our lives and you know it.” She grinned, poking him in the side. He gave her one of his rare Tim Drake smiles, the one that made his eyes crinkle and showed off his dimples. Though it was hard to see underneath the ski mask. 

“Yeah, I suppose you did. Good job, Batgirl.” 

She preened a bit under the praise, despite herself. She was only just being welcomed back into the Bat Family, having proved herself properly at St. Hadrian's, and it wasn't like she  _ needed _ the approval of her dumb Ex-boyfriend, but it was nice to have it anyway. She was also glad she could blame her blush on the cold weather. 

“So, Batman got any safe houses round here? That thing got Google maps?” 

“I am insulted that you would think I'd ever trust in something as unreliable as Google maps.” said Tim, putting a hand over his heart. Stephanie raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed, “No. But we're near enough to some vacation spots. There should be some nice unused cabins we can hunker down in. Though, I'll admit I'm not sure what direction to head in… if the sun's over head than maybe they'd build them…”  

“There's a resort 20 miles west of here. With cabins located in the woodside. They've got a load free, since apparently it's the off-season.” 

“How'd, how'd you know that?” Tim frowned, slightly agape. Yes! 2-0 to Batgirl. 

She waved her phone at him with a grin “Trip Advisor has a link to Google maps. And WE has the most amazing data plan. You really  _ can _ access information from all over the world!”  

Red Robin sighed again, shaking his head fondly “Okay, just, lead the way.”

She grinned, holding her head high, hoisting her snowboard over her shoulder and walking off with confidence.  

“Steph?” 

“Yeah?”

“West is this way.”

Damn. 2-1 then.

Tim did make them swap to his own satellite map, which did at least allow for gradient and heat signatures. Well it wasn't  _ her _ fault she didn't inherit a Multimillion dollar company when her dad disappeared. She just got the trauma with none of the perks. 

It had been afternoon when they'd set off, but by the time they'd trudged through all that snow it was nearly midnight. Their suits were designed to keep them dry, but they'd had to ditch their big winter coats earlier for the sake of aerodynamics. Tim kept trying to assure her that a low body temperature would help them keep a low profile should any of Williams _ ’  _ cronies were trying to track them down. Stephanie thought Tim was full of shit, but she cares just enough about him to not throw a snowball at his face. Scratch that, her hands were too cold to put anywhere near the snow. Also it would mean putting down the snowboard, which she was barely clinging to as was. She'd wanted to dump it, but they needed to keep them, just in case they came across any slopes. Urrrrgh. This spy life was not as glamorous as it was built up to be. She'd have to email Pierce Brosnan when she got back, O could probably get his email, no problem. 

“I think you'd be better off contacting the directors, not the actors, if you want to complain. Though I would suggest that complaining about being a spy, might just give the whole game away.” 

Steph winced, inside voice. She  _ really _ needed to keep working on that.

“Oooh, wow would look over there!” she pointed, excitedly. 

“Really Steph? You're pulling that one?” 

“No! Seriously, civilisation! Or rather, creepy wooden houses in the middle of the forest. But  _ dry _ wooden houses, with beds and blankets and maybe even a mini-fridge!”

“I'm not sure these places usually have access to electricity.” 

“I will not allow your negativity to dampen my spirits Boy Wonder!”

The door was, predictably locked, but they'd both picked harder locks blindfolded, and it wasn't long before Steph was crying triumphantly as she pulled out a couple of sodas from the fridge. There must have been a private generator. She knew rich people couldn't go long without being able to plug in their juice boost machines or whatever the latest trend was.

“I don't think those have ever been a thing. But well done, it's three-three.” 

“I think you'll find that it's three- _ one _ , and also  _ ha _ you've been keeping count.” 

“Only because I know you do.” He grumbled, but didn't push his luck. He started checking out the fireplace. It seemed to be a real one, which was a bit of a pain. He began trying to get it going, whilst Steph went and investigate what else there was in the kitchen. Not a lot, to be honest. But there were a few packets of chips, and some tinned cans. She checked the labels. Really? Caviar but no spaghetti hoops? What kind of crazy world did these people live in. She did find a coffee machine though. 

“Ahhh, I love you so much.” sighed Tim, as she handed him the mug, grasping it tightly in his hands. 

“Careful, I thought you and I were past all that.” 

“I was talking to the mug.” he shot back, not looking back at her “I don't know why this thing won't start.” He grouched, throwing back down the splint. Steph sighed, putting down her own mug and picking up the fire lighters. 

“Go find out if they have anything for us to change into. I'll deal with this.” 

He looked like he was going to complain, but acquiesced. Steph pulled out Tim's attempt at kindling, and started her own. Luckily the place was well stocked for idiots who didn't know how to light a fire, so she didn't have to chop off her hair with a batarang just for dry kindling. It took a little while to build up, but by the time Tim was back with what looked like the whole contents of the bedrooms, the fire was blazing away merrily. 

“Four-One to Batgirl!”

“Four-Three.” he counted, chucking a fluffy looking robe at her. Excellent! She loved a fluffy robe. She could get used to this life. “Figured we were okay to break radio-silence by now, so I contacted Oracle to let her know we're alright. She says to stay put for the night, she'll dispatch someone in the morning. We'd best get changed, the suits should have kept us dry, but it's best to still try to--”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Mom'll kill me if get pneumonia.” she unzipped hers at the back and started to wiggle out the suit. Tim coughed and began to mutter something about going to the toilet. Steph rolled her eyes “Tim, relax, it's not anything we've both not seen before. That bathroom is cold as balls anyway, colder than  _ your _ balls even, so just get your kit off in front of the fire like we're in a romance novel.” 

“So much for being a gentleman.” he said dryly, but she could hear him getting changed as well, his back firmly turned away.

“Oh you  _ wish _ you were Mr Darcy!” she laughed, trying to shove the suit past her waist. 

“Oh  _ please _ if anyone is Darcy, it's Bruce. We all know Bingley is the real catch.” he shot back, laughing a rare Tim Drake laugh. He'd been so serious of late, it was good to see that the young, eager little robin was still in there. 

“Well, clearly  _ Dick  _ is Bingley. So who does that leave you? Wickham?” She peered over her shoulder, trying to gage his reaction. He still has his back to her, but she could see his bare shoulders now as he struggled out the sleeves. Bare shoulders! So scandalous!

He must have realised she was looking at him, as he turned around as well to give her a sardonic look. She was still wearing her sports bra, so it didn't matter, but she feigned her horror, covering herself up immediately. 

“Why you scoundrel! You certainly  _ are  _ Mr Wickham!”

“Jason is Wickham. Though don't let him hear you say that, he has strong opinions on that book.”

“I have strong opinions about Colin Firth, so that's fair.” she nodded solemnly. 

“You know that scene doesn't actually appear in the book?” 

She shrugged, not bothering to cover herself up anymore “I have strong feelings about Keira Knightley as well, if that helps.”

“You Bisexual Disaster.” he grinned, giving her a playful shove.

“Takes one to know one.” she sang back, sticking her tongue out.

They went back to changing in peace, Steph carefully using Tim's shoulder to help balance her when she tried to tug her legs free, allowing him to do the same. She took a moment to stretch out her aching limbs, before pulling off her sports bra with a contented sigh, and shrugged on the robe. She knotted it securely, making sure nothing was gonna fall out. 

They put their clothes by the fire to dry, and sat down on the sofa, Steph trying best to charge her phone with Red Robin's magic wireless charging thingy-ma-jig. He hated it when she called his tech magic, or used silly names for it. It was exactly why she did it, which he knew all too well. 

Whilst Steph was warming up nicely under the blankets and duvets she'd mastered into a nest, Tim was still looking a little worse for wear. All the other boys she'd dated had been absolute furnasses, no matter the weather, but as always Timothy Drake had to be the exception. She sighed, and opened up her arms “Come on Tim, let's do as the penguins do.”

“I'm fine, honestly. I just need another coffee and I'll warm up jus-just fine.” He was still shivering under his blankets, and he could tell Steph was not going to take no for answer. He sighed, and shuffled up to her.  _ God _ he was cold! 

“That's sort of the point of this whole endeavour.” 

“No one likes a smart-ass.” Steph berated, rubbing his shoulders and arms to try and get the blood circulating. She tucked the blankets more tightly around him, and after a moment's hesitation she felt him relax into it. He rested his head on her shoulder and they just breathed in the silence together. No sirens, no explosions or gunshots or maniacal laughter. Just simple, blissful, snow softened silence. 

“We did good today.” he whispered, almost as if he was afraid to break the moment. 

“Yet again the world is saved by 00Bat.” she agreed sleepily. “Go team, go.”

“No! I mean, you and me. We were really good, working together.” 

“I blew up your helicopter.” she reminded him

“Yeah, but you did save our lives.” he grinned, squeezing her a little tighter. “So, why don't we team up more often?” 

“I don't know Tim,” she lied “but let's talk about it in the morning.” she lied again “when we've finished not dying.” that at least was true.

She wished lying to him wasn't as easy as it was, but she'd had a lot of practice over the years. And, truth be told, sometimes she even believed those lies herself. She was just that good at it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason is not Mr Wickham. That is VERY harsh on him, I know. He's probably more like Lizzie, but with more childhood trauma and guns.


	2. Chapter 2

It was weirdly one of the best night's sleep Steph had had in a long while. It was probably due to having been so exhausted, and cold, and the robe being extra fluffy. That's what she told herself anyway, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Tim Drake-Wayne had his arms wrapped around her, and his head resting on her chest. She gently carded her fingers through his hair, watching him sleeping so peacefully. She remembered how long it used to get, and how she joked he was going to end up getting a Nightwing Mullet if he wasn't careful. She remembered him hiding behind that boyish fringe, looking like he was a member of a 00s boy band, and feeling such a deep, glow within her at how much she loved him. It was short now, business length, just like Bruce's. She traced a hand gently down his face, there was maybe a day's stubble growing through? She remembered the days of baby fuzz, and then when Bruce was missing and he'd just let it grow out more. Nothing impressive, nothing note-worthy, just scratchy scrabbly hair he never bothered to deal with. He was always so smooth these days, smart, business like, same as Bruce.

She couldn't tell if being CEO of Wayne Enterprises had made him happier or not. Everything about him now screamed of seeking approval. It was like an iron mask he was never allowed to peel off. She'd fallen in love with a boy who never showed his face, and now here he was, sleeping next to her, for the first time in years, finally looking like himself. This was dangerous, oh god this was so dangerous…  Fay Wray! Fay Wray! FAY WRAY! Blonde, compromised, and under duress from ex-boyfriends looking too cute when they sleep!! Come in Oracle! HELP!

 _Oh god_ let that have been inside voice. She looked back down at the sleeping Tim. He hadn't moved. Thank fuck. He twisted slightly, nuzzling his face deeper into her robe, and humming slightly. “I can't hear what you're saying, but you're thinking it really loudly.”

Now how on earth was _that_ fair?

“You thought that really loudly too.” he yawned, finally moving away from her and Steph let out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry? Was I crushing you?”

“No, no I'm good.” more like she was the one doing the crushing “You're still a skinny twig” totally not true, just ask any teen in Gotham “so no harm done.” Lots of harm done. Very bad, send aid as soon as possible.

“Well, I'm sure you can take it anyway,” he grinned, sitting up properly now and adjusting his robe. Yeah, totally not the same skinny twig he'd been 5 years ago. The fire had died in the middle of the night, and the air around them was still cold, but it wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday. She didn't think anything could have been as bad as yesterday.

“Did you say that there were some tins about? We can see if there's anything for breakfast. If not, I've still got supplies in my belt. Between us we should have enough rations to last a couple of days, but it's always best to preserve when possible.”

Crap. Rations … had she bought rations? She honestly couldn't remember, probably not. She didn't think the mission would last more than a day, she didn't think about the possibility of being _stranded_! Maybe Oracle did though, O knew that Steph didn't know anything so she may well have… she snuck over to where her belt lay, hung up next to Tim's. She cautiously felt around in the larger pocket at the back, where O put the things she forgot about…

“You have rations.” said Tim, without even looking up from the cupboard he was investigating. Damn him. “I sent Oracle a reminder to add them to your belt, not the rucksack. I knew you'd forget.” double damn him.

“Shouldn't be too much of a worry though, because here we have cherries, olives, caviar and organic oatmeal.” he pulled things down from the various cupboards, opening up a top cabinet at last “Oh and a lot of booze. Wow, that actually looks like some classy stuff.”

“Not for you Mr Teenager.” Steph said, moving into the kitchen and pushing the door to the cupboard closed.

“Says the twenty-year-old.” he smirked

“Hey, college student, remember? I can hold my booze thanks. You, are a baby, and cannot. Anyway, aren't you already addicted to coffee?”

“Yeah, but I'm allowed to have more than two loves in my life.” he countered, already setting the machine going.

“How very modern of you.” she nodded, leaning back against the counter and reaching for the tin of cherries. “What've they got in the freezer?”

“We’re in the Alps, I don't think they exactly have the weather for ice cream.”

“This is Italy! They _have_ to have ice cream.” she said, marching over to the freezer and rummaging around.

“Technically we're currently in Austria.”

“Whatever. I'm a Computer Science Major, not a Geologist.” Damn, the thing was empty, not that she'd been looking for ice cream, she'd been looking for waffles, but Tim didn't need to know that. He'd made fun of her enough times for her apparent waffle obsession. But really, she was only obsessed the appropriate amount.

“Tell you what, you go start the fire back up, and I'll see what I can rustle up from the packs.” said Tim, a wry smile on his face.

“You? Cooking? Didn't know you knew how!” she smiled, ignoring his exasperated look but left him alone nonetheless. She took the cherries with her though. She didn't really know the difference between ‘morello cherries’ and just regular ones, but they sure tasted good!

It didn't take long to get the fire back up, which impressed Stephanie to be honest. She didn't know she'd have such a gift for pyromania! It allowed her so sit back and relax whilst watching Tim bustle about the kitchen, grateful for the open plan set up for allowing her to do so. Sure, he was just pouring various dried packets of stuff and adding liquids, but it was still cute. With his fluffy robe, and messy hair, she could almost pretend like this was a proper vacation. She couldn't actually remember the last time she's _had_ a vacation… her jaunt through London with Beryl didn't really count, since it ended up with a spot of world-saving.

He smiled and bought her a bowl of whatever it was and gave a little flourish as he passed it over “Bon Appetit!”

“I thought you said we were in Austria, not Italy?”

“See you're not a language major either.” he said, starting on his own bowl of whatever.

“I’ll have you know I'm fluent in python _and_ java.”

“Ah, the true universal languages.” Tim nodded seriously, spooning the whatever into his mouth.

Steph looked down at hers. It seemed to be some sort of hot oatmeal thing? With bits in it. She took a tentative spoonful and let out a noise of surprise. It wasn't actually awful!

“Is this syrup flavoured?” she asked, eagerly taking another mouthful.

“Well, I was travelling with Stephanie Brown. It would be remiss of me to forget to pack syrup.”

“I love you.” she grinned, spooning more and more of the syrupy goodness into her mouth.

“Careful, I thought you and I were past all that.” mimicked Tim.

“I was talking to the bowl.” she shot back. The bits turned out to be dried fruit, and it was almost as good as a real meal. They sat in what Steph thought was a comfortable silence until eventually Tim asked the question she'd been dreading.

“Are we past it though?”

“Well last time I checked the papers you were still engaged to Tam Fox. So I _hope_ so!” she laughed, making a real, conscious effort to look at him as she said it. Looking away would reveal too much, and Tim knew her well enough to begin with.

“You know that was just all a misunderstanding.” he twisted round in the sofa to look at her properly. “Come on Stephie, you can't tell me you don't feel it too… I _know_ you.” he reached forward and pushed the hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. It was such a familiar action, and he looked at her with such soft, caring eyes. It bought her heart rushing straight back to those days when she was sixteen and the size of a whale, with him just sitting with her and being there when no one else was. Even if she didn't know his name, she still knew _him_. And then there was the time she was sick, and he'd bought her over homemade chicken soup just to cheer her up. It reminded her of when they were just Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake, and there was nothing left to hide.

“Tim, I--” she hesitated, caught off guard. She did love him, she would always love him. There was nothing she could ever do to change that… even if it hurt. It seemed to be a running theme with Batgirls and Robins.

“Yeah?” he asked, shuffling a little closer, his hand still cupping the side of her face.

This was bad. This was bad. This was bad, this was … she learnt forward and kissed him. He let out a little sound of surprise, even though it had clearly what he had been angling for. It was really adorable, and made it almost feel like a first kiss. She supposed, in some ways, it was: a first kiss between batgirl and red robin. Between the people they'd become. She pulled back for a second but he guided her back towards him and kissed her again, harder this time.

She felt every concern drift to the back of her mind, she was from Gotham, she knew how to ignore the sound of distant sirens. He'd improved a lot since the last time they'd done this, all those sexy assassins had clearly taught him a thing or two. She was certainly not responsible for the way he gently bit at her lip, or slid his tongue so it caressed her own without being too intense, letting the pace build up and up each time. Making out with him before had been enjoyable, but a little messy? Not very finessed. She couldn't help but moan as he bought his hands up the side of her body, almost dipping inside her loosening robe. They were both naked underneath. It would be so easy to just tug at the knot at his waist, feel those broad shoulders, seek out new scars and fractures, see what five years of vigilantism could do to a body. She know she'd changed. Black Mask, Leslie, Scarecrow… _THWACK!_

“Ouch! What the fuck was that for?” cried Tim, rubbing his cheek. Oh God, had she slapped him? She'd totally just slapped him. She should probably apologise for that. Or say anything, or do something at least. Anything? Come on brain, if it could do this on automatic it could think of something to say!

“Sorry!” she squeaked, frantically backing up away from him and scrabbling towards the other sofa.

“Seriously Steph, what is it with you and attacking me? First the brick, then the punch…”

“At least it's getting lighter?” She laughed, nervously.

“Yeah, you'd think so. You're getting stronger though. Seriously, the fuck? If you wanted to stop you could have just _said_.” He sounded more frustrated than angry “I thought you were enjoying yourself? What happened?”

“About five years of hurt happened.” She said, bringing her knees up to her chest defensively, trying to make herself as small as possible. “That's history I don't want to repeat. You say you don't know why we don't work as a team more often Tim? It's because of _this_ .” She waved her hand between the two of them “ _This_ is a lot to get through.”

“So, why don't we work through it together?”

“Because, because it _still_ hurts Tim! Do you know how many times this trip I've almost called you Alvin?”

“I thought that was a joke.” he mumbled, still clutching the side of his face.

“Well it _wasn't_!” She shot back “It was just another show of you not trusting me. And I was too young to see it, but if my kid ever told me a guy they were dating was lying about his true identity, would never let them see him without a mask on, or those stupid sunglasses you wore indoors--”

“You said they were funny…”

“They were very funny. At first, and then I got older and realised how _not_ funny the whole situation was.”

“Well then why didn't you say anything at the time! Or any time after that!” he shot back, leaning away from her. “It wasn't easy for me, you know--”

“I was _pregnant_ you do _not_ get to play that card with me.”

“Okay, okay,” he held his hands up in defeated “But you do know that I didn't _want_ to lie to you! I just, there was a lot going on for me too. I just, I wanted to try to keep my Robin life and my Tim Drake Life separate, because everything else was just, merging together in ways I couldn't control. I was dumb. I was fourteen and thought I was a genius, only to realise that I still knew fuck all about the world.”

“Yeah well, me to I guess.” She said, resting her chin on her knees “but it terms of 'life sucking’ I totally win hands down. You still hurt me. I might have forgiven you but--”

“Why bring it up now? You're not--” he stared at her wide eyed and there was that same look of panic he'd had five years ago. Five, long, painful years.

“You can close your mouth, Boy Wonder,” she rolled her eyes “I'm not pregnant. Not even the slightest chance of it. Where'd I find the time for that anyway? Between Batgirl and College, I barely have enough time to dry my hair, let alone meet someone!”

“Sorry,” he said, looking away from her “I didn't mean to--”

“Yeah, yeah,” see waved his comment away “I'm already enough of a statistic to cause concern. Don't worry about it.”

“Well clearly, it is something to worry about. Why now? Why bring this all up now? And not, you know, five years ago?” he repeated.

“Because,” she groaned “I'm not a teenager anymore, and I can't go and make the same mistakes anymore, and I can't just forget everything that happened. I'm trying to learn from my past. I'm the Come Back Queen, as Dinah says. But part of that is remembering where you're coming from, you know?”

“So what else is there?” he said, folding his arms “because if you want to talk about lying, and feeling betrayed, there's that little case of you faking your death.”

“I said I was sorry...” she said, rather weakly, sinking lower inside her robe so it nearly covered her face. “It was Leslie's idea, and you know, I did actually die on the table, just, not for very long.”

“You let me grieve you Stephie, my father died, and you died, and I had nobody else left except for Bruce, who kept blaming _you_ for everything and,” he tugged at his hair “I needed you and you lied to me.” he looked pleadingly at her “I can understand lying to Bruce, I get that, that Leslie thought you were better off away from Gotham, away from the life, but why did you have to lie to me too?”

“I'm sorry Tim…” she looked down again “I just… I knew that if I told you, I'd want to come back. I knew I'd never even be able to leave. And, you know, I needed to get out of there. Figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and what made me happy. Turns out this life was what made me happy, as fucked up as it is. I used to do it to get back at my dad, and then to impress you, and now, now I do it for me or rather, for those who are  _like_ me. I love helping people and getting to make a real difference in our city. I've never been happier than I am right now Tim.”

“I get that.” He looked off to the side as well, neither of them willing to make eye contact in case it revealed too much about themselves “I thought I could give this up, but turns out I can't let go that easily. So, I'm sorry for-- for all the times I told you to stop. That, you weren't good enough. That was, that was a crappy thing to say,” he laughed emptily “but you know, I only said those things because I was scared, and then angry. So damn fucking angry that, as soon as you came back you were lying to me again! Going behind my back to scheme with Bruce. Just, low blow.”

“Yeah,” she nodded taking her time to comment. “You're right, about a lot of that. You telling me, on what felt like a weekly basis, that I should give up and never put on the costume again, that I was no good, that hurt. Like, scarecrow gas made me relive that moment, levels of hurt.” Tim looked up at her for that, slightly aghast.

“Steph, I'm sorry, I didn't, I never--”

She waved her hand again, batting his comments away “It's fine. I've moved on from it. I know that I'm good at this, I have the confidence just, when I'm around you… I still feel like I have to prove myself. It's the same with Batman, I mean, sure I slapped him in the face when he tried to test me,” she reasoned, “but every time I enter that cave, I still panic that the door isn't going to open. That he'll have locked me out for good this time. And if he _did_ ” she added hastily “I’d still continue doing what I'm doing, I'm stubborn like that, I'm driven like that. I have Oracle and the Birds of Prey, my best friends are Supergirl and Black Bat! I don't need an entrance code. I don't need the bat cave. Batgirl is always about knowing that Batman is full of shit, and you don't need his approval for anything. But I was once a Robin too…”

She didn't know how to finish that sentence, she just let in hang there and hoped he would understand. Being Robin came with so much responsibility and expectation, you were always trying to live up to everyone else, and you couldn't be Batman's partner if he didn't trust you, but it was also one of the best things in the _world_. It gave you a magic that never left your bones, but it also gave you enough scars to last a life time.

“So, so that's why you went to Batman? Why you lied about the case we were working because he wanted me to 'be a better Robin’? Because, you wanted his approval?” Tim squinted, leaning forward again “I know it's all past tense, but, like you said. It still hurts. Just because we're through it, doesn't mean we're over it.”

“When batman came to me,” she said carefully because she was not going to take full blame for this “I listened to him, because the last time I'd not done what he'd asked, I helped start a gang war and nearly got myself killed. I didn't want that for _you_. So if he thought this was what would make you a 'better Robin’ and it would keep you out of our little 'Dead Robin Club' then all the better. I remember seeing Jason's costume there, in the middle of the room. Barbara's Batgirl outfit on the side, and I kept thinking, what if it was yours? What if you were part of that memorial as well. That weird museum of the dead and the damned. I couldn't live with that. It was selfish, it was wrong, but I was eighteen and terrified. So I did as he asked. Better that you were angry at me, than if you were dead.” She shrugged “It was a mistake, I made the wrong decision, but I know that, at the time, I did what I thought was best. If you can forgive Batman, why can't you forgive me?”

Tim sighed, leaning forward and burying his head between his legs as he ran his fingers through his hair “I do forgive you Steph. I'll always forgive you, because, because I know that your heart is always in the right place. I know that I've caused you pain too, and I think that's just who we are.”

“See,” she said “us getting back together, it's a bad idea. It doesn't end well. It has never, _ever_ , ended well.”

“I mean, has it really ended though? If it’s ended then we'd not be having this conversation. You'd not have been kissing me.” He grinned smugly “So I know that whatever it is we have between us, it's still not over."

She hated it when he was right. Fuck.

“So the question is, do you forgive me for what I've done? If you say no, then, okay. We end it here. We never work together again, because, that requires complete trust. But, I like I said, you and me? We make a pretty great team.”

“Of course I forgive you.” She smiled sadly “I think that's what makes it hurt all the more.”

“Well,” he said carefully, sliding over to sit on the same sofa at least “maybe that's okay. Maybe, we can take the pain we both feel, and take it one day at a time? We'll never be those kids in the park hanging upside down on the swings, but, we're not Spoiler and Robin anymore. So, how about we give Batgirl and Red Robin a go?”

Steph looked over at him, at his big blue eyes, his gentle smile, the sticky up hair and the hunched posture. “How about we give Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake a go for once? And completely forget about the masks.” She said instead, gently sliding her hand across to his.

“Yeah, alright.” He smiled, twining their fingers together “That sounds pretty great, actually.”

They just sat there for a while, holding hands, not certain what to do next. Steph felt herself shuffling closer, and just rested her head on Tim's shoulder, allowing herself to enjoy the feel of his arm wrapped around her, and smile at the gentle his kiss he placed on her head. The crackle of the fire, and their slow steady breaths, was all they could hear. It would be different in Gotham. It always would be! There was no other city in the world like it, but Steph could not imagining living anywhere else. It was home. It would be nice to finally, after all these years of pain, to return home.  

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoyed this? Let me know via Comments/Kudos or on Tumblr where I'm Mrsmarymorstan. 
> 
> Con Crit appreciated, since I'm new to BatFam =)


End file.
